When Mr & Mrs Nixon Came to Ireland

Jan 2, 2019

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By Billy O’Riordan

On Monday, January 20th, 1969 Richard Milhous Nixon became the 37th President of the United States of America. By August, 1974, Nixon had resigned in shame.
The 1968 Presidential election had been a tumultuous affair, indeed 1968 had been a tumultuous year.

1968 was the year of anti- Vietnam war protest in the Capital Washington D.C. The assassination of Robert Kennedy in July after his victory in the Californian Primary, had left a bloody stain on American politics. Nixon’s inauguration was remembered for extreme protests by M.O.B.E. – The National Mobilisation Committee to End the War in Vietnam.

January 20th, 1969, in Washington D.C. saw mass protest with rocks, rotten fruit and smoke bombs being hurled at police. An oddly interesting event was taking place on the National Mall during the Nixon inauguration.

A group known as the Yippies (Youth International Party) were at the same time performing an investiture on a ‘pig’.

The Yippies had nominated a pig as a presidential candidate claiming, “he had more going for him than the other candidate”.

Earlier in 1968, ‘Pigasus the Immortal’ had caused a riot at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago leading to the trial of seven Yippies, who became known as ‘the Chicago seven’.